According to Salary.com the median yearly pay for an Army private (E3) is $19,983. Based on the comparison that the Washington Post did between John McCain’s tax plan and Obama’s, McCain would give a tax break of $113 to an E3. Since one is literally on duty 365 days per year that means McCain would give those grunts that carry much of the weight in Iraq and Afghanistan a tax break equal to 2 days' pay of $55 per day. Obama’s plan is equal to 8 times that of McCain’s plan, or $892, equal to about 16 days’ pay.
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Median Army Private Salary
McCain Obama Tax Plan Comparison WaPo
We all know that our nation’s young men and women don’t join the armed forces to get rich. They do it out of a sense of honor and pride and a desire to serve their country. Their courage and dedication have stood between us and harm’s way throughout the course of our nation’s history. Leaving aside the issue of when and where and under what circumstances we call them to serve, it only seems fair that we be fair to them when we decide who should benefit from the fruits of their efforts to keep us safe and free. John McCain has served; he should understand the hardships that service members face, especially financial hardships. So why is he being so stingy in his tax cuts to those who most deserve some relief now?
Under McCain’s plan, the tax cut to the very top earners, the top 0.1%, who earn more than $2.87 Million per year is $269,364. That’s roughly equivalent to 4,897 days – or 13 years – of service for an E3. So to the E3, McCain is saying, you’re worth 2 days of your pay in my tax plan, but the efforts of the richest and most well off are worth about 2,500 times your efforts.
Obama, on the other hand, would increase the tax on that same top earner, over $700,000 or the equivalent of 12,761 days of E3 pay. That’s about 35 years.
In essence McCain says to the E3, I’m going to take the 13 years worth of your service, and give you back 2 days. While Obama’s plan says, "Mr. Top Earner, you have people around the world defending your wealth. Let’s give back to those who give so much. To support the troops, we must support the troops. An 11-1/2 percent increase in your taxes for one year is the surely worth the value of 35 years of their service. "